Losing the Battle?

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 

2 Timothy 4:7

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, our mindset should be like that of Apostle Paul when he told Timothy about his life for God.  Despite many hardships and battles from within and without, Apostle Paul stayed steady on the course that God had placed in front of him.

Like Apostle Paul, despite our knowledge of spiritual warfare, from time to time we may face failure. Do not be discouraged. . . some of the greatest men of God faced similar situations.

There are several accounts in the word of God about great men, including Apostle Paul, who lost battles but went on to win the war.  We can learn from them and take steps to recover from defeat and go on to victory despite temporary defeats. There are ways to deal with the condemnation of the enemy. Temporary defeat can teach important spiritual lessons. . .  and remember. . . 

it is possible to lose a battle and still win the war

There are several examples in Scripture of men of God who lost battles with the enemy:

*  Joshua 
was a great military commander who was anointed with leadership of the nation of Israel after the death of Moses. One of the challenges God gave Joshua was to lead Israel across the Jordan River to claim their promised land. One of the warriors of Israel sinned by taking spoil (property) from the enemy, something God had forbidden. Because there was "sin in the camp," Israel lost the battle at Ai (Joshua 7).

*    King David 
lost an important battle when the Amalekites invaded the southern portion of his kingdom and burned the city of Ziklag. They took the women captive, including David's wives. David's friends and soldiers were so upset with him that they threatened to stone him to death. David was greatly distressed and discouraged (1 Samuel 30:1-6).

King David also lost a great battle in the spiritual world at one point in his life. He committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba who was another man's wife. When this resulted in Bathsheba becoming pregnant, he had her husband killed to try to cover his sin (2 Samuel 11 and 12).

*    Elijah

A wicked queen named Jezebel sent a messenger to the prophet Elijah informing him she was planning to kill him.  Here was the great man of God who had healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded the elements of nature in the name of the Lord. Now he was hiding, fearful, despondent, and wanting to die.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  1 Kings 19:4

*    Apostle Paul 
also faced defeat. He wrote once that due to experiences in Asia he was "pressed out of measure" and "despaired even of life".

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 2 Corinthians 1:8

He had times when he was troubled, perplexed, persecuted, fearful, and cast down (2 Corinthians 4:8-11; 7:5-6).

Each of the great leaders mentioned lost battles with the enemy. As we engage in spiritual warfare, we too may experience a defeat. But although we lose a battle with the enemy, it does not mean we have lost the war. A war is made up of many battles. Just because we lose one battle does not mean we have lost the war.

Each of these men lost a battle, but recovered to win the war. The spiritual strategies they used will help us when we have lost a battle. It is possible to recover from the snare of the enemy when we lose a battle:

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive of him at his will.  2 Timothy 2:26

The word "recover" means to awake or arouse yourself. A snare is a hidden trap. "They may recover" indicates that YOU must take steps to recover after losing a spiritual battle. Here are the steps to take to recover from the snare of the enemy:

®  Recognize Your Failure:

-         Joshua recognized and admitted the failure at Ai. He said:

O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies.  Joshua 7:8

It was not hard for David to admit failure in the incident at Ziklag. The loss was apparent to the natural eye. The city was burned and the women taken captive. But it was more difficult for David to admit failure in the incident with Bathsheba. No one knew of his sin except himself, Bathsheba, and the prophet of God. But David admitted it: 

 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.  2 Samuel 12:13

-         Elijah admitted failure. He said:

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  1 Kings 19:4

-    Apostle Paul recognized his failures. 

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.   Romans 7:19

We cannot let pride prevent us from admitting we have lost a battle. In order to recover from the snare of the enemy, we must first acknowledge we are in his snare:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  1 John 1:8

®  Repent, Confess, seek forgiveness:

It is not just enough to admit our failure. We must also stop what we are doing, confess and ask God to forgive us:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

-      King David repented of his sin with Bathsheba - Psalms 52. This is a good Psalm to use as a prayer when we have failed.

-       Joshua searched until he found the cause of the failure at Ai. He discovered that a military leader among the people had disobeyed God and caused the army to lose the battle. He and the people repented before God (Joshua 7).

-         Elijah repented before God. He admitted he was no better than his sinful ancestors (1 Kings 19:4).

-         Apostle Paul indicated that although he had a great battle with the flesh (Romans 7), he was able to gain victory through "repentance from dead works" (Romans 8; Hebrews 6:1).

®  Rebuild Your Spiritual Strength:

In the natural world when an army has experienced a military loss, time is taken to rebuild combat forces before returning to the battlefield. Commanders analyze the problems, take corrective action, and strengthen and encourage the troops. This is an important principle in the spiritual world also. When we have experienced failure in spiritual warfare we must rebuild our spiritual strength.

-    Joshua waited before the Lord in prayer to regain spiritual strength before returning to the battlefield. He prayed to discover the reason for failure and receive guidance for corrective actions (Joshua 7:6-15).

-    King David fasted and prayed after his failure with Bathsheba. Later he received physical food after the death of his child by Bathsheba.

In the Ziklag incident David "encouraged himself in the Lord" and asked God for direction before returning to the battlefield 

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.   1 Samuel 30:6

Elijah rested, was ministered to by an angel, and waited on a mountain until receiving strength through a special manifestation of God's power (1 Kings 19).

-    Apostle Paul encouraged himself in the Lord. He reminded himself that nothing, not even his failure, could separate him from God:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.   Romans 8:35-37

Here are some ways to rebuild spiritual strength:

    Ø      Study the greatest handbook on spiritual warfare ever written . . .  The Word of God.

     Ø    Spend time in prayer and fasting. Incorporate other spiritual strategies including binding the power of the enemy in our life. Ask God to reveal causes for the failure we experienced and what to do to correct the situation.

    Ø     Ask God to renew our strength and help us put His strategies into practice.

    Ø     Rest physically. Man is body, soul, and spirit. When our physical body is exhausted, Satan can take advantage and affect our soul and spirit.

After we have recognized our failure, repented from it and rebuilt our spiritual strength, it is now time to return to the battlefield; refreshed, restored and renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit and fully clothed in the armor of God!

Biblical Studies


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